Food, Recipe, and Activity of the Week - August 19, 2007
This week's features include:
Food - Papaya
Recipe - Asian Salad
Activity - Horseshoes
History
Papaya has been grown in tropical regions of the world for as along as history has been recorded. This tropical fruit is believed to have come from southern Mexico and Central America. It is now present in every tropical and subtropical country.
Facts
There are two types of papayas, Hawaiian and Mexican. The Hawaiian varieties are the ones commonly found in the supermarkets. Hawaiian varieties are pear-shaped and generally weigh about one pound with the plant seldom growing taller than 8 feet. The Mexican variety are much larger and may weigh up to 10 pounds and be more than 15 inches long.
Papayas have precise climate requirements for vigorous growth and fruit production. They must have warmth throughout the year and will be damaged by light frosts. Even brief exposure to 32° F is damaging. They like to be warm with both sunshine and reflected heat and like to be as free from wind as possible.
Papayas are ready to harvest when most of the skin is yellow-green. After several days of ripening as room temperature, they will be almost fully yellow and slightly soft to the touch. Dark green fruit will not ripen properly off the tree, even though it may turn yellow outside. Mature fruit can be stored at 45° F for about 3 weeks.
Papayas contain a digestive enzyme that is used to tenderize meat. Papain is extracted from the papaya skin and used in the meat industry as a tenderizer. The greener the fruit is the more active the papain.
At home papayas are good to eat alone or mixed with other fruits. They are an excellent source of vitamins A and C as well as potassium. They also contain small amounts of calcium, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin. When buying a papaya choose one with a rich colored skin that gives slightly when touched. Slightly green papayas will ripen quickly at room temperature. Refrigerate completely ripe fruit as soon as possible.
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
Directions:
Cut papaya and guava into thin slices. Julienne the Asian pear. Put the spring salad mix in a large bowl. Toss with dressing. Mound on a platter. Place fruit slices on top and serve.
Nutritional Information (per 1/4 of recipe): 140 calories, 4 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 23 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein, 11 mg cholesterol, 236 mg sodium, 5 g dietary fiber.
Recipe courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more recipes and other information about fruits and vegetables visit: www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/5aday/index.htm
Did you know that there is a National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America? After you try out our highlighted physical activity of horseshoeing…you might consider joining if you're any good!
One great thing about horseshoes is that it's a fun game to play at birthday parties, family reunions, or just with your family in your own backyard. Playing horseshoes also gives your body a nice, easy workout. A 150 pound person can burn approximately 270 calories playing horseshoes for 1 hour!
To set up the game, you'll need to follow these rules:
- Find a flat surface measuring 6 feet wide by 46 feet long.
- Mark two spots that are 40 feet apart.
- At each location, drive in a stake until it is 14-15 inches above the ground.
- Next, mark foul lines for each stake. For adult males, the foul lines should be 3 feet in front of each stake. For females, kids, and older adults, mark another foul line 13 feet in front of each stake. This ends up making the foul line for adult males 37 feet from the target stake and for everyone else, 27 feet from the target stake. The foul lines will end up being between the two stakes.
How to play:
- First, each team should have an even number of players and should receive 2 horseshoes.
- To decide which team goes first, flip a coin.
- The team to go first picks a player. That player stands behind the foul line and pitches both horseshoes one at a time.
- Next, the opposing team will pick a player to pitch both of their horseshoes.
- One point is awarded for horseshoes that are within 6 inches of the target stake (including shoes that are touching the stake), and 3 points for shoes that encircle the stake.
- The next round of players repeats these steps until one team earns 40 points or until 40 shoes have been pitched.
Above information adapted from the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America.